Hierarchal control of teleconferences

ABSTRACT

A teleconference between at least two participants is evaluated by monitoring the teleconference and detecting a triggering event if more than one participant desires to speak at the same time. Upon detecting a triggering event, e.g., detecting an attempt of one or more participants to interrupt another participant, or detecting a request initiated by one or more participants to interrupt another participant, a dominant source is selected from among the ones of the participants attempting/requesting to speak based at least in part upon a determined hierarchal order of those participants attempting/requesting to speak. A participant is then selected from the participants to have the role of the dominant participant based upon the selected dominant source and only the speech of the dominant participant is conveyed to each participant through the teleconference system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to systems, methods and computer programproducts for the implementation of hierarchal control ofteleconferences.

Telephony systems are commonly utilized to facilitate conversationsbetween participants. However, such conversations may becomeunproductive or disruptive, such as where the conversation is over-runwith multiple simultaneous voices. This problem is compounded as thenumber of participants in the conversation is increased. Moreover, whenmultiple participants are involved in a conference, it may be difficultto orchestrate efficient moderation and flow of the conversation. Inthis regard, conventional teleconference systems are staticallyconfigured and require manual intervention, typically leaving control ofcommunication to the discretion of the teleconference participantsand/or a teleconference host.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to aspects of the present invention, a method of controllingteleconferences comprises evaluating a teleconference between at leasttwo participants by monitoring the teleconference and detecting atriggering event if more than one participant desires to speak at thesame time. Upon detecting a triggering event, e.g., detecting an attemptof one or more participants to interrupt another participant, ordetecting a request initiated by one or more participants to interruptanother participant, a dominant source is selected from among the onesof the participants attempting/requesting to speak based at least inpart upon a determined hierarchal order of those participantsattempting/requesting to speak. A participant is then selected from theparticipants to have the role of the dominant participant based upon theselected dominant source and only the speech of the dominant participantis conveyed to each participant through the teleconference system.

According to further aspects of the present invention, a method ofcontrolling teleconferences conducted between two or more participantscomprises assigning a selected one of at least two participation statesto each participant in a corresponding teleconference, wherein a firstone of the participation states designates a muted state whereincommunication from a corresponding participant in the muted state isprevented from reaching the remainder of the teleconference participantsover a corresponding teleconference system and a second one of theparticipation states comprises an active state wherein communicationfrom a corresponding participant in the active state is transmitted tothe remainder of the teleconference participants over the correspondingteleconference system.

At least one teleconference parameter associated with the correspondingteleconference is monitored where each teleconference parameter isrelated to determining whether control of the teleconference shouldchange and a teleconference update is automatically performed withoutmanual intervention if a triggering event is detected based uponmonitoring at least one teleconference parameter by determining ahierarchal order of the participants of the teleconference, e.g., byconsulting a hierarchy, modifying the participation state of at leastone participant based at least in part upon the hierarchal order of theparticipants and conveying at least the modified participation stateinformation to the corresponding teleconference system so as toimplement the participation state of each participant on theteleconference system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of various devices for connecting toa teleconferencing system according to various aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a telecommunications system according tovarious aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method of providing hierarchalcontrol of a teleconference system according to various aspects of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method of establishing a dominantsource in a teleconference according to various aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a system diagram of a teleconference system capable ofimplementing hierarchical control according to various aspects of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system including acomputer usable medium having computer usable program code embodiedtherewith, where the exemplary computer system is capable of executing acomputer program product to provide hierarchical control of ateleconference in a teleconference system according to various aspectsof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Conventional telephone conferences can often be overrun with multiplevoices speaking at the same time. Under such an occurrence, it may bedifficult for the teleconference participants to distinguish who thespeaker is and/or whether an issue of conversation has been suitablyresolved. Such potential for overrun may be disruptive, lead tounproductive conferences and/or unduly increase the time required tocover all subject matter for which the telephone conference wasoriginally intended.

In this regard, the teleconference may be more efficiently handled if asingle participant has the ability to speak at designated times of theteleconference. According to various aspects of the present invention,hierarchical control is selectively implemented during a teleconferenceto establish or assist in establishing, a dominant source. Based uponestablishing the dominant source, a corresponding participant may beselected as having a dominant role in the teleconference. Accordingly,communication from a single participant having the dominant role reachesthe remainder of the teleconference participants across theteleconference system during corresponding designated times wherehierarchical control is implemented.

In addition, participants may assume different levels of involvementduring a corresponding teleconference. As such, the hierarchalpositioning of participants may change during a correspondingteleconference, thus dynamically affecting the criteria utilized toestablish a dominant source according to various aspects of the presentinvention.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, a generaldiagram of a system 100 is illustrated, which may be utilized to allowparticipants to implement teleconferencing according to various aspectsof the present invention. The system 100 comprises a plurality ofcommunications devices, designated generally by the reference 102 thatare linked together by a network 104 when such devices are utilized toparticipate in a teleconference. Typical communications devices 102 mayinclude traditional wired and wireless telephones, cellular telephones,pervasive computing devices such as smartphones, personal dataassistants (PDA) with cellular capability, speaker/intercom basedconferencing telephones, etc. Additionally, communications device 102may communicate with a corresponding teleconference system via acomputer or server based telephony systems 106, such voice over internetprotocol (VoIP) systems or other types of systems that are capable ofutilizing packet based networks for voice communication.

The network 104 provides communications links between the variouscommunications devices 102 and may include for example, a common carrieror telephone company system such as the Public Switched TelephoneNetwork (PSTN), Private Branch Exchange (PBX) systems, Key systems, andother exchanges capable of interfacing with the PSTN. The network 104may also integrate prevailing technologies such as Integrated ServicesDigital Network (ISDN) systems, short message service (SMS) systems,code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS), cellular phone technology such as theGlobal System for Mobile Communications (GSM), General Packet RadioService (GPRS), etc.

Still further, the network 104 may include data networks, such as one ormore intranets, extranets, local area networks (LAN), wide area networks(WAN), wireless networks (WIFI), the Internet, including the World WideWeb, and/or other arrangements for enabling or controlling communicationbetween the communications devices 102 during a teleconference. Variousaspects of the present invention may require the manipulation of dataother than the voice communications associated with the exchange fromthe participants of a corresponding telecommunication. For example,hierarchal data is collected and evaluated according to various aspectsof the present invention. In this regard, data transmissions need not berouted along the same end-to-end connections utilized to facilitatevoice communications between participants of the teleconference.

As noted above, parts of the network 104 utilized to implement ateleconference may be physically and/or logically external to the PSTN.As such, the network 104 may be supported by components 108 thatinterconnect the communications devices 102, including for example,adapters, conferencing bridges, VoIP PBX systems, routers, wired orwireless communications links and corresponding interconnections. Ateleconference system 110, illustrated as a teleconference server, mayalso be provided to facilitate teleconferencing and to selectivelyimplement hierarchical control over corresponding teleconferences aswill be described in greater detail herein.

The system 100 is shown by way of illustration, and not by way oflimitation, as an environment in which various aspects of the presentinvention may be practiced. In this regard, various aspects of thepresent invention may be practiced as an enhanced service in thetelephone network, mainly computer and IP based, e.g., with VoIP or byutilizing a hybrid of computer and telephony integration.

Referring to FIG. 2, participants at N distinct physical locations114A-114N may connect to the teleconference system 110 to carry out acorresponding scheduled teleconference, where N is an integer greaterthan 1. Each connection temporarily ties an associated one of thecommunications devices 102A-102N into the corresponding teleconference,e.g., for as long as the associated participant maintains theirconnection with the teleconference system 110. The telecommunicationssystem 110 thus enables the participants, who may be geographicallyremote from one another, to converse as if connected to a party line.Depending upon the particular implementation, the connection from one ormore of the communications devices 102A-102N may pass through acomponent 108, such as an adapter, e.g., bridge, exchange, etc. asdescribed with reference to FIG. 1.

According to various aspects of the present invention, thetelecommunications system 110 includes a hierarchical teleconferencecontroller 116 and corresponding data source(s) 118. The hierarchicalteleconference controller 116 and corresponding data determine adominant source among the participants based upon an establishedhierarchy of participants when hierarchal control is active such thatcommunications from the participant associated with the dominant sourcereaches the remainder of the participants over the correspondingteleconference system 110. All other participants may be either muted orthey may be otherwise subservient to the dominant source, thus enablinga single voice at a time to communicate with other participants of theteleconference.

As an example, the hierarchical teleconference controller 116 mayevaluate a teleconference by monitoring the participant communicationsand by detecting a triggering event if more than one participant isattempting to speak at the same time. Upon detecting a triggering event,the hierarchical teleconference controller 116 may select a dominantsource from among the participants who were attempting to speak at thesame time. The selection of the dominant source is based at least inpart upon a hierarchal order of those participants attempting to speak,where the hierarchal order is determined from information stored in thecorresponding data source(s) 118. A participant is then selected fromthe participants to have the role of the dominant participant based uponthe selected dominant source and only the speech of the dominantparticipant is conveyed to each participant through the teleconferencesystem.

Referring to FIG. 3, a method 150 for controlling teleconferencesconducted between two or more participants is illustrated. The methodmay be implemented, for example, by the hierarchical teleconferencecontroller 116 and corresponding data source(s) 118 described withreference to FIG. 2. To control a teleconference, a selected one of atleast two participation states is assigned to each participant of acorresponding teleconference at 152. For example, according to variousaspects of the present invention, a first participation state may bedesignated a “muted state” wherein communication from a correspondingparticipant in the muted state is prevented from reaching the remainderof the teleconference participants over the corresponding teleconferencesystem. A second participation state may be designated an “active state”wherein communication from a corresponding participant in the activestate is transmitted to the remainder of the teleconference participantsover the corresponding teleconference system.

In this regard, the teleconference states may provide a logical means toorganize the participants of a corresponding teleconference and the rolethat each participant plays during a given portion of the correspondingteleconference, and may thus be implemented conceptually or logically inpractice.

During the teleconference, at least one teleconference parameter ismonitored at 154 where each teleconference parameter is related todetermining whether control of the teleconference should change If atriggering event is detected at 156 based upon monitoring at least oneteleconference parameter, a teleconference update is performed. In thisregard, the update may be determined and/or implemented automaticallyand without manual intervention of a teleconference participant.Teleconference updates are performed by consulting a hierarchy ofparticipants at 158 to determine a hierarchal order of the participantsof the teleconference. Other optional considerations may includeconsulting rules/policies at 160 and/or a designation of best practicesat 162, as will be described more fully herein.

The participation state of at least one participant is modified at 164based at least in part upon the hierarchal order of the participants andthe modified participation state information is conveyed to thecorresponding teleconference system at 166 so as to implement theparticipation state of each participant on the teleconference system.

Referring to FIG. 4, at one or more times during a teleconference, itmay be desirable to limit the communications transmitted across theteleconference system 110 to a single dominant participant. In thisregard, the dominant participant is also the only participant in theactive state. The remaining participants are in the muted state.

A method 170 illustrates an approach to providing control based uponidentifying a dominant source and associating the dominant participantbased upon that dominant source. A dominant participant is establishedat 172 and the teleconference system is configured such that only thecommunications of the dominant participant is transmitted to theremainder of the teleconference participants over the correspondingteleconference system. The teleconference is monitored at 174 and if atriggering event is detected at 176, then an analysis is performed at178 to determine whether a new dominant participant should beidentified.

As an illustrative example, the triggering event at 176 may comprisedetecting multiple incoming voices in the various connections to theteleconference system 110. In this regard, a first participant may beattempting to interrupt the current dominant participant. As anotherexample, one or more participants may communicate a request for theright to interrupt or otherwise gain access to the right to speak, suchas by sending a non-voice based request using either the phone system orother data communications system, examples of which will be described ingreater detail herein. The analysis at 178 determines which of theincoming communications is the dominant source, and may thus determinewhether the role of dominant participant should be relinquished. Theanalysis at 178 may conclude to reassign the role of dominantparticipant for example, if the interrupting participant is situatedhigher in a current hierarchy relative to the current dominantparticipant.

If a new dominant source is determined, then the participant associatedwith the dominant source is established as the dominant participant at180 and the teleconference system is updated at 182 such that the newdominant source is the only voice that is transmitted to the remainderof the teleconference participants over the corresponding teleconferencesystem.

Referring to FIG. 5, the teleconference system of FIG. 2 is illustratedin greater detail according to various aspects of the present invention.In a manner analogous to that described above with reference to FIG. 2,a plurality of locations 114A-114N may connect to the teleconferencesystem 110. Each connection temporarily ties an associated one of thecommunications devices 102A-102N into the corresponding teleconference,e.g., for as long as the associated participant maintains theirconnection with the teleconference system 110. Also as shown, eachconnection may optionally couple through one or more components 108 suchas adapters, exchanges, etc. as described more fully herein.

Also, one of the participants, e.g., a participant at location 114J inthe present example, may also serve the role as the host or initiator ofthe teleconference. Under this arrangement, the host may utilize a userinterface 184 or other hardware or software tools to set up and/orcontrol the flow of a corresponding teleconference, such as byestablishing one or more hierarchies, identifying participants and/orparticipant profiles, establishing/selecting appropriate rules and/orpolicies and performing other operations to control the flow during theteleconference, such as by assigning or otherwise delegating participantstate information, etc. Moreover, the host may utilize the userinterface 184 to steer the teleconference in real-time or nearreal-time. The user interface 184 may be computer based and thus providea visual/graphical interface to the teleconference system 110. The userinterface 184 may also be telephony based, e.g., which includes atelephony interface that allows for the use of spoken menus, keypad orvoice recognition input, etc. Still further, the user interface 184 maybe implemented using a combination of telephony based and computer basedinterfaces to the teleconference system 110.

As shown, the data source 118 has been conceptually divided into aplurality of different data types to facilitate discussion herein. Asshown, the data types include hierarchy data 118A, profile data 118B,rules/policies data 118C and content/context data 118D. The hierarchydata 118A may store hierarchy information used, for example, toestablish priority for participants who want to assume the dominantparticipant role. The profile data 118B may store a profile of one ormore of the participants of the teleconference. The profiles may be usedto construct a hierarchy (dynamically at runtime or prior to theteleconference) or to otherwise provide parameters to be evaluatedduring the teleconference in cooperation with the hierarchy.

The rules/policies data 118C may provide rules and/or policies that areconsulted and interpreted in determining control of a correspondingteleconference. For example, rules and/or policies may establish thedominant source among incoming communications. Rules may also establishwhen or if the state of a participant should change. The content/contextdata 118D may be utilized to store information that allows theteleconference system to make automatic decisions. For example, thecontent of the teleconference may be broken down into portions of theteleconference. An agenda with scheduled times allotted to each portionmay be stored as content/context data 118D to assist in automateddecision making. Moreover, as a further example, contextual information,such as the subject matter of each portion of the teleconference may bestored. This contextual information may be used in lieu of or incombination with participant profile information to make teleconferencecontrol decisions, construct hierarchies, etc.

The controller 116 may include a processor module 186 that utilizes theinformation stored in the various data sources 118 to assist in makingdeterminations directed to the control of the correspondingteleconference. A programmable configuration module 188 may also beprovided for setting up the parameters necessary to control theteleconference, including defining parameters utilized to make decisionsbased upon monitoring the teleconference. For example, the host atlocation 114J may log into the telecommunications system 110, e.g., viathe user interface 184 to preprogram the control of an upcomingteleconference by interacting with the programmable configuration module188 to define or otherwise identify profiles, hierarchies, rules,policies, content data, context data, etc. The configuration module 188may also serve as a means for the host to make changes to the control ofa teleconference while being carried out.

A mixer/multiplexer (mux) module 190 may be provided for tying theincoming lines of the various participants during the teleconference,and for implementing the various participant states when appropriate,such as by interacting with the various communications devices102A-102N, components 108 such as adapters, exchanges, etc., and otherdevices that control the voice portion of the teleconference across thenetwork 104. The mixer/mux 190 may thus handle switching, mixing,multiplexing and other related aspects of the teleconference. In thisregard, the mixer/mux 190 may also be carried out entirely in theadapters, switches and other components 108 used to couple thecommunications devices 102 to the teleconference system 110.

The telecommunication system 110 may also include a voice recognitionmodule 192 and may further include a voice discrimination module 194.The voice recognition and/or the voice discrimination modules 192, 194may be utilized by the processor module 186 to make automated decisionsto control of a corresponding teleconference, such as to identify adominant source from among incoming signals to the teleconference system110. The various modules 188, 190, 192, 194 of the teleconference system110 may thus cooperate with the data sources 118 to implementhierarchical control of corresponding teleconferences includingimplementing the methods described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4,herein.

Referring to the Figures generally, the selection of the participationstate for each participant and/or the selection of a dominantsource/dominant participant may be implemented in a number of diversemanners.

In an illustrative application, a teleconference may designate threeperiods where a different designated participant is presenting a topicof interest in each of the three periods, after which, a question andanswer period is available. To assist with the control of this flow, ahost of the teleconference may utilize the user interface 184 to set uphierarchies of the participants, which may be stored, for example, inthe hierarchy data source 118A. In this regard, a different hierarchymay be set up for each period of the teleconference, or a singlehierarchy may be dynamically updated and/or derived, such as based uponthe profile data 118B, rules/policies data 118C and/or content/contextdata 118D. Since the first three periods are specified for presentationof topics of interest, the host may designate that the presenter foreach period shall be the default or initial dominant participant fortheir corresponding period. The host may also place the associatedpresenter at or near the top of the hierarchy for each period.

Also, since this example is for a lecture style presentation, theremainder of the participants may be assigned a participation state ofmuted. In this state, a rule may specify that muted participants cannotinterrupt the speaker, even during pauses or periods of silence. Insteadof logically implementing states, the hierarchy may be created to definea class that cannot interrupt under any circumstances. As yet anotherway of implementing a “no interruption” policy is to couple a hierarchywith a corresponding rule that specifies a minimum hierarchal positionbefore which the participant can interrupt or otherwise speak across theteleconference system.

Alternatively, where interruptions may be tolerated under propercircumstances, the host may assign certain classes of participants, suchas a boss or supervisor, team leader, panel expert, etc., to ahierarchal position that enables interruptions or that may otherwiseallow such a participant to obtain the role of dominant participantunder designated circumstances. For example, the host may retain theright to interrupt the presenter, such as by having the host at a higherposition within the hierarchy. A rule may prevent a supervisor frominterrupting the presenter during their corresponding presentationperiod, but may allow the supervisor to assume the dominant participantif the presenter pauses for a predetermined period of time. As anotherexample, a rule may prevent a supervisor from interrupting the presenterduring their corresponding presentation period, but may allow thesupervisor to interrupt the presenter during a question and answersegment of the presentation. Any number of alternative arrangements maybe implemented within the spirit of the various aspects of the presentinvention.

Keeping with the current example, during each presentation period of theteleconference, the designated presenter will (at least initially)assume the role of dominant participant and communication from thepresenter is transmitted to the remainder of the teleconferenceparticipants over the corresponding teleconference system, e.g., via thetelecommunication system 110 controlling the connections of theparticipants using appropriate control logic such as the components 108,mixer/mux 190, etc. Moreover, during these three exemplary periods, thenon-presenting participants are in the muted state. As such,communication from these corresponding muted participants is preventedfrom reaching the remainder of the teleconference participants over thecorresponding teleconference system. Moreover, if other participantsattempt to speak during the teleconference, such as to cause aninterruption, they must first be judged as the dominant source beforetheir voice reaches the remainder of the teleconference participantsover the corresponding teleconference system. Thus, the teleconferenceis controlled by allowing only a single dominant voice during thesedesignated periods.

During the question and answer period, the host may modify the hierarchyto that based upon an organizational order. Thus for example,participants may be ranked by organization, e.g., a project manager ishigher in the hierarchy as a team leader who is higher in the hierarchythan a team member. The rank of the participants may be stored forexample, in the profiles data source 118B. Moreover, rules and/orpolicies, such as may be stored in the rules/policies data source 118C,may be consulted to establish a rule that the project manager caninterrupt any other speaker. Team leaders may be able to interrupt teammembers but not the project manager, etc.

As a further example, the hierarchy may dynamically change based uponthe context of a particular question asked. As an example, a first teamleader may be able to interrupt a second team leader during question andanswer period if the topic of discussion is directed to the expertise ofthe first team leader. Such intelligence may be automatically determinedbased upon profile information for the first and/or second team leadersstored in the profile data 118B and/or content/context data 118D.

As still a further example, the host may assign each presenter in anactive state and disable the dominant source requirement. As such, thethree presenters can have a free-for-all discussion/debate during adesignated period. During which time, all participants in the mutedstate will be unable to interrupt those in the active state.

The above was presented by way of illustration and not by way oflimitation. Numerous other exemplary configurations may be implemented,further examples of which are set out below.

The selection of whether a participant should be in the active or mutedstate, the selection of the dominant source, the hierarchy, policies andother aspects of the present invention may be dynamic so as to changethroughout the flow of the teleconference. As a few illustrativeexamples, the dominant source may change under program control and/orthe dominant source may change dynamically by having the systemautomatically monitoring the system, e.g., via incoming voice signalsinto the mixer/mux 190, and by making autonomous decisions as to whoshould be granted the dominant role based upon a correspondingidentification of a dominant source using hierarchal information.

According to various aspects of the present invention, the dominantsource is selected based upon a hierarchy of participants, which may bestored, for example, in the hierarchy data source 118A. Conceptually,the hierarchy may change at one or more times during the teleconference.This may be implemented by dynamically updating a hierarchy, such asbased upon profile information obtained with regard to each participant.Alternatively, a host may predetermine multiple hierarchies, any one ofwhich may be used at particular times during the correspondingteleconference.

The hierarchy may be established in any suitable manner. As a fewillustrative examples, the conference initiator/conference host mayspecify one or more hierarchies for a corresponding teleconference. Ahierarchy may also be established based upon the organization of anentity, based upon a lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP), aBluePages or other directories or membership list(s). The hierarchy maybe based upon a directed acyclic graph. Still further, the hierarchy maybe based upon a directory tree or other structure that reflectsorganizational, geographic and/or other boundaries.

The hierarchy may also be constructed, at least in part, upon profiles,e.g., as stored in the profile data 118B. The profile data may containinformation about one or more of the participants and includeinformation such as position or title, areas of expertise, affiliationsor other relevant information that is deemed to be useful forimplementing control of the corresponding teleconference.

Thus, for example, the hierarchical order may be based upon a level ofinvolvement of each participant during the teleconference. For example,a participant may be a supervisor and thus have a relatively highorganizational position. However, the subject matter of theteleconference may not be within the supervisor's expertise, or thesupervisor may participate only as an observer, e.g., to gain backgroundknowledge. Under this example, the level of involvement of thesupervisor is relatively low. Thus, the supervisor may be positioned lowin the hierarchy, e.g., via a corresponding rule, profile or hierarchyrepresentation.

Still further, a hierarchy may be specified through one or more rulesand/or policies, e.g., stored in the rules/policies data 118C. Suchrules and/or policies may be specified by a corresponding organizationor sponsor of the teleconference. Rules and/or policies may also bespecified based upon individual profiles. Still further, rules/policiesmay be based upon “best practices”, such as rules of order, etiquette,custom, tradition, etc. As a few illustrative examples, a policy may beimplemented during a corresponding teleconference based uponcultural/geographic courtesies. In this regard, the sensitivities andtolerances of participants from different geographic/culturalbackgrounds may be addressed by rules and/or policies that dictate whena speaking participant may be interrupted, etc. Moreover, differentdialects and manners of expression in different cultural/geographicbackgrounds may be used to establish a baseline policy as to how long ofa pause is required to set a threshold for relinquishing control of thedominant participant, etc. Similarly, policies and/or rules may be setup to address gender issues. For example, it may be desirable in certaincontexts to prevent male speakers from interrupting female speakers orvice-versa.

Other exemplary policies/rules may establish associations between andamong organizations. For example, a director in the organization of anentity hosting the teleconference my assert priority over a participantwho holds the title of vice president of another entity. As yet anotherexample, a customer/participant may be given priority over an employeeparticipant. The above examples were presented by way of illustrationand not by way of limitation. Numerous other implementations may berealized, depending for example, upon the particular facts of theteleconference, the participants involved, and the implementationdetails of the given teleconference system.

Still further, policies may also be applied to specific individuals. Forexample, if employee A and B often work together, and employee Abelieves that employee B lacks a expertise or knowledge in a particularsubject matter, employee A may specify in their profile that on callsfor which employee A is host and the particular subject matter is thetopic of discussion, employee B may not interrupt any speaker inprogress.

Different policies/rules may also be specified for determining priorityof participants to speak when a pause of another participant isoccurring. In this regard, different policies and rules may govern whomay begin speaking when a pause is occurring, and who may interrupt whena speaker is in progress. Thus, for example, policies may specify thelength of time necessary to declare that a pause has exceeded acorresponding designated pause threshold. The duration necessary todesignate a pause may be specified once, e.g., based upon a commonspecified threshold, may be specified by profile e.g., in acorresponding participant profile, may be specified by policy or ruleand/or may be dynamic based on points of origin. In some cultures,geographic locations, etc., a pause is shorter than in others. Otherparameters may also be utilized to determine an appropriate pausethreshold. A user's profile may also/alternatively specify terminatingconversation pause length or a designated pause threshold, e.g., howlong after they stop speaking until a pause is declared and others maybegin speaking. For example, based on a user's style of speech, a longeror shorter pause may be appropriate.

Accordingly, the teleconference system may consult a hierarchy todetermine a hierarchal order of the participants and one or morepolicies or rules that determine whether a first participant caninterrupt a designated dominant participant where the designateddominant participant is the only speaker that reaches the remainder ofthe teleconference participants over the corresponding teleconferencesystem.

The teleconference system may monitor at least one teleconferenceparameter, such as whether a participant is actively speaking, whethermultiple participants are trying to simultaneously speak, etc. Theteleconference system may also monitor the duration of a pause of theparticipant actively speaking. The teleconference system may thenautomatically perform a teleconference update without manualintervention if a triggering event is detected, e.g., a participant isattempting to interrupt the current speaker. As an example, if anotherparticipant begins speaking with hierarchical priority to interrupt thecurrent speaker, then an update may comprise changing the dominant roleto the interrupting participant regardless of whether the currentspeaker is actively speaking or paused. Another example, if anotherparticipant begins speaking who has hierarchical priority to speak andthe current speaker has paused for an amount of time exceeding adesignated pause threshold, then an update may comprise changing thedominant role to the participant that began speaking.

As another example, a supervisor may receive a hierarchy code of 1,meaning that the supervisor can interrupt anytime someone else isspeaking. A team leader may receive a hierarchy code of 2, which maygive the team leader the ability to speak once group 1 has been speakingfor a certain amount of time, the ability to interrupt a participantranked below code 2 in the hierarchy, etc.

According to various aspects of the present invention, voice recognitionmay be utilized to control the corresponding teleconference. Forexample, voice recognition 192, which may include voice recognitionhardware/software at the teleconference system server or otherwisedistributed across the network 104 and/or within the communicationsdevices 102 may be utilized to identify who is attempting to speak sothat the system may determine the dominant source or otherwise controlthe teleconference.

Thus, as an illustrative example, if there are multiple speakersattempting to communicate to the remainder of the teleconferenceparticipants over the corresponding teleconference system, each suchspeaker may be recognized using the voice recognition 192 and based onorganization or other hierarchy the dominant source is chosen by thesystem. In this regard, voice recognition may not be available for allparticipants, and voice recognition may not be available at all. Assuch, voice recognition may be used in combination with other systemresources, if implemented at all.

The system may also utilize voice discrimination 194. Voicediscrimination 194 may be used in combination with voice recognition192, such as where multiple voices may be transmitted along a commonchannel. Such may occur where multiple communications devices are mixedtogether at a previous stage within the network 104. Alternatively,there may be several participants accessing the teleconference from asingle communications device 102. In this regard, more than one actualteleconference participant may be present at each location during theteleconference such that a single physical line may be utilized to carrymultiple distinct voices. For example, multiple participants may be in aconference room or may be otherwise participating in the teleconferenceover a conference or speaker phone. The voice discrimination 194 may beutilized in combination with the voice recognition 192 to distinguishone voice from others.

Thus, as an example, if a vice president (VP) and regular employee aresitting in one office, e.g., at location 114A on a conference line,e.g., via a common communications device 102A, and a director is sittingin another office on a conference line, e.g., at location 114N viacommunications device 102N, if the VP and the director both speak andthe same time, the VPs line may be determined to be the dominant sourcebased upon voice discrimination and/or voice recognition. If the regularemployee and the director speak at the same time, the director's linemay be judged the dominant source. Moreover, assume the VP is judged tobe the dominant source and the VP is currently silent, e.g., where theperiod is within a pause threshold associated with the VP or where theemployee is in the muted state. If the employ speaks at location 114A,then no sound will be communicated to the remainder of theteleconference participants over the corresponding teleconference systemas the employee is not the dominant source, despite being on the samephysical line/the same location as the VP. However, if the employee isnot in the muted state, both the VP and the director are silent and thedesignated pause threshold has lapsed for both the VP and the director,then the employee may be able to communicate with the director and VPacross the teleconference system.

Where voice recognition is unavailable, or where it is unpractical touse voice recognition, such as in a narrow bandwidth and/or low resourceenvironment, then other approaches may be utilized to automaticallyestablish who is attempting to communicate to the remainder of theteleconference participants over the corresponding teleconferencesystem. For example, the teleconference system 110 may associate variouslines to a hierarchy, such as by associating phone numbers (lines) withindividuals through static look up, based upon information passed duringconference join, when each joining conference participant is identified,based upon location, etc.

As yet another example, a participant with sufficient authority, such asthe teleconference host, could raise or lower the hierarchical positionof a participant during the teleconference itself. For example, the hostmay utilize the user interface 184 to define the importance of eachparticipant on the call and their ability to speak to the remainingparticipants across the teleconference system, e.g., by assigning ateleconference state to each participant. This could be staticallydefined or based on rules and policies. The host may also assign certainparticipants on the call different speaking abilities, e.g., bypositioning such participants at various levels within an associatedhierarchy. As an illustrative example, the host may assign a primaryspeaker a high position in the hierarchy and assign aco-speaker/secondary speaker a lower priority in the hierarchy for acorresponding portion of a teleconference. In this regard, ateleconference update may occur if a triggering event is detected, suchas by detecting a desired control change implemented by a designatedconference host to reassign the hierarchy among the participants.

According to various aspects of the present invention, the host or otherdeemed participant may be able to assign all participants, orgroups/classes of participants, in the active state wherein the dominantsource hierarchical control is disabled. Alternatively, the dominantsource may be designated only to those participants in an active state.This may be desired, for example, at the start of a teleconference forgreeting and introductions, at the end of the conference for wrap ups orwind down conversations, etc. This may be accomplished, for example, byinteraction with the user interface 184 to the teleconference system110. Additionally, the host may be able to quickly assign allparticipants or classes/groups of participants to the muted state, inorder to answer a question, gain control of the conversation, etc.Again, the states may be implemented logically or conceptually, e.g.,via the logic used to define the dominant source itself.

In this regard, a boss, supervisor or other designated participant mayalso utilize a user interface 184 that would enable selective control,e.g., to mute participants or to assign an active state to groups orclasses of participants, such as to answer questions, participate infree-for-all open discussions and brainstorming discussions, etc. Such adesignated participant may also have authority to over-ride thehierarchical decisions automatically made by the teleconference system110. Thus, a participant may be upgraded within the hierarchy e.g.,based upon being deemed by another participant, as being integral to atopic being discussed. A participant may also be downgraded, e.g., basedupon being deemed detrimental to a topic being discussed.

According to various aspects of the present invention, a participant maydesignate a desire to interrupt a current speaker such as by sending asuitable signal to the teleconference system as an alternative tospeaking. This may be implemented by way of the voice network, e.g., bydialing a predetermined Dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) tone. Forexample, a participant may dial a DTMF tone, such as #99. Thecorresponding PBX may interface with a corporate directory which in turnestablishes the organizational position of the interrupter, e.g.,relative to a corresponding cellular ID of the telephone thattransmitted the DTMF signal and an employee record, e.g. in a SAP orother suitable system that governs ownership. On receiving such astimulus it is compared to other stimuli, e.g. other DTMF interruptions,other voice recognition patterns and the dominant hierarchy may thus beautomatically nominated and enforced as dominant.

As another example, the teleconference system 110 may store a staticlist of lines associated with a teleconference, as well as theparticipants associated with those lines. When a participant enters apredetermined DTMF code, the processor 186 may evaluate such an actionas a triggering event and determine whether the requesting participantshould be granted the dominant role.

Notably, the above exemplary approaches to request the right tointerrupt e.g., an attempt to interrupt by speaking or to request theright to interrupt by issuing a command, may be implemented even wherevoice recognition is unavailable, not possible, such as for reasons ofsound quality, signal degradation or adequate competition forinterruption that would render voice recognition impossible due to theplurality of input signals.

Alternatively, a participant may request to interrupt or otherwisebecome an active speaker by communicating a request across a datanetwork, such as the Internet. In this regard, control signals/requestsneed not utilize the same lines for voice per se. As yet anotherillustrative example, each participant in the teleconference may log inwith unique login identification (ID). For example, a participant maylog into the teleconference system 110 with an employee serial number,or other information that allows the teleconference system to establishthe identity of each participant. This identity information may then beutilized by the teleconference system 110 to determine the ability ofeach participant to participate in the conversation.

Thus, determination of the dominant source may be based upon detectionof signals in various forms, e.g., one participant may communicate adesire for the dominant sound by attempting to interrupt using normalvoice channels. Such an interruption request may be processed by thevoice recognition module 192. Another participant may communicate adesire to interrupt by entering a DTMF tone into the voice system, andyet another participant may communicate a desire to interrupt by sendinga data message to the teleconference system 110, e.g., using a datanetwork such as the Internet. Regardless of the manner in which thecommunication request is issued, each requesting participant isevaluated based at least in part upon their current hierarchal positionas described more fully herein.

According to various aspects of the present invention, theteleconference system may also ensure “fairness” in the conversation,such as by implementing one or more fairness rules and/or policies. Forexample, a policy may be used to determine how much time eachparticipant has had control of the conversation and then attempt tomaintain various fairness schemes, such as speak once, balancing ofaggregate speaking time by each participant, etc.

According to various aspects of the present invention, there may or maynot be feedback to participants of a teleconference, e.g., to designatethat the participant is or is not the dominant role. For example,audible cues such as hearing another voice over the correspondingteleconference system may serve as notice that a participant is not thedominant role. A participant may also attempt to communicate using thecommunications device 102, which may not be heard through thecorresponding teleconference system. Alternatively, an audible signalmay be transmitted across the teleconference system. For example, anaudible cue such as a first tone may be delivered to a participant whenthat participant is speaking and has the floor, e.g., by providing abrief tone. A second tone may be communicated, e.g., from theteleconference system 110 to a corresponding participant when thatparticipant loses the rights to the dominant source. A third tone may beutilized to designate a situation such that if the associatedparticipant were to begin speaking, they would “take the floor”. Stillfurther, an auditory signal may designate who has taken the floor from aparticipant.

Still further, the teleconference system may respond to queries so thatparticipants may determine who has the floor by a combination ofkeystrokes, touch tones or other means. Visual indication may also beimplemented, e.g., using lights, an alphanumeric display, or graphicaldisplay. Still further, in a network environment that permits connectionto a teleconference server via data communications as well as audiocommunication, the dominant role may be displayed on a computer device,along with profiles, hierarchy information and other pertinentinformation.

According to still further aspects of the present invention, there are anumber of factors that can trigger the detection of the dominant source.The automated selection of the dominant source may be based, forexample, upon the detection of a conversation or the detection of anassigned dominant party, who may or may not be speaking. In this regard,the selection of a dominant source need not be carried out for theentirety of the conference. Rather, the selection of a dominant sourcemay be implemented for only a selected portion of the teleconference.

For example, the implementation of the dominant source may be initiatedat a preset time after the scheduled start of the conference, e.g., bystoring appropriate schedule information in the content/context data118D. The selection of a dominant source may likewise end at a presettime. The selection of a single dominant source may alternatively beimplemented throughout the entirety of a teleconference. As noted above,the selection of a dominant source is dynamic and may be started andstopped by participant action, which may be monitored and automaticallydetected by the teleconference system. In this regard, if a participantexercises control over the selection of the dominant source, thatparticipant may be a host/moderator, the highest ranking participant, anon-participant, a member of a group of participants, any otherparticipant(s), based on rules, configuration or administration.

As yet another illustrative example, the selection of a dominant sourcemay begin when the moderator “officially” starts the conference, such asby a key press, sign in, or other means, such as by utilizing the userinterface 184, via voice recognition, speech recognition, etc.

According to various aspects of the present invention, there arenumerous ways that the teleconference system may deal withinterruptions. For example, a team member is speaking and has thedominant role. A supervisor wants to interject. Because of a superiorhierarchical relationship, the supervisor has rights to the dominantrole. In this regard, the team member may be simply cut off, e.g., asfast as the electronics can identify and process the new dominant voice.Alternatively, there may be a window of time to finish a thought beforelosing priority as the dominant source. For example, an audible cue maydesignate to a participant with the dominant source that they are aboutto loose that right in a predetermined amount of time.

Thus, as an example, the change of dominant role based on a “higher rankor priority” speaking may happen as fast as the electronics can processor identify the new dominant voice, or be delayed based a set timeinterval the can be configured, administered or dynamically adjusted.The predetermined delay may also be derived from profile information,from a corresponding policy, or the delay can also be at a break in thespeakers sound or some natural break point such as sentence end as isdetermined by voice recognition and natural language processing. In thisregard, voice recognition and natural language understanding may be moreor less useful depending on the power of the voice recognition andnatural language processing employed. Still further, indication ofchangeover or impending changeover (of speakers) can be given in any ofthe manners described more fully herein.

As yet another illustrative example, during a conversation, a supervisormay be speaking and have the dominant role. During the conversation, saythree speakers (e.g., team members with lesser priority) attempt tospeak up, but are not transmitted to the remainder of the participantsover the teleconference system due to the dominant voice being the onlyallowed speaker. Further, assume the supervisor pauses and a fourthspeaker attempts to interject. Under these and other circumstances wherepriority may be an issue, the teleconference system may use any numberof techniques to resolve the flow and control of the teleconference. Forexample, the first speaker that attempted to interrupt may be given anopportunity to assume the dominant role. The highest hierarchal priorityof those attempting to interrupt may receive the first opportunity toassume the dominant role, or all denied requests for the dominant rolemay simply be disregarded. Other configurations may alternatively beimplemented.

Thus, the teleconference system may implement a queue or other mechanismfor others to assert a desire to speak, even if another participant hasassumed the dominant role. As a few illustrative examples, a request tothe teleconference system to acquire the dominant source may becommunicated either “in band (heard in the conversation)” or out band(out side the conversation). Thus, for example, voice, touch tones,packet-based requests or other arrangements may be implemented to send asignal to the teleconference system to request the right to speak. Thus,the out band can be auditory or visual or it may be implemented by othertechniques, including email, a web portal, and other Internet relatedcommunication techniques. Still further, the right to grant such arequest may be made by the teleconference system automatically, e.g.,based upon the above described rules, policies, hierarchies, etc.Alternatively, such a decision may be implemented in cooperation withfeedback from a participant, e.g., a host/moderator, the participantcurrently holding the dominant source, or other participant.

If the current speaker stops speaking, the “floor” might pass to one ofthe requesters if no one of higher priority is speaking Moreover,depending upon the facts, the speaker with the dominant source may wantto “pass the floor” to one of the requesters or to any otherparticipant, e.g., based upon predetermined criteria, hierarchicaldecisions implemented by the teleconference system, etc. As such, theteleconference system 110 may be configured to address a number ofsituational outcomes.

In the case of multiple speakers at the same priority, a policy mayestablish a race condition, that is, the floor might be given to whichever participant got to a corresponding queue first. Alternatively, apolicy may specify that the next speaker should be that participant whohas spoken the least, who has spoken most recently, who has spoken leastrecently, round robin, or other approach. There may be one or multipletime limits. Time limits may be configured, administered or dynamicallyadjusted per user, per rank or other organization. Upon exceeding thedesignated time limit, the participant must yield the dominant role,e.g., to someone of the same or lower rank There can be auditory orvisual indication of the time limit. The time limit may also be queried.Other methods may also be utilized to arbitrate and/or delegate thefloor for participants wishing to speak, e.g., where such participantshave the same or similar hierarchal position.

Thus, a mechanism may be provided to “preliminarily request” thedominant role, request permission from the dominant role, queue up as aparticipant desiring the dominant role, or take other actions toprioritize those participants wishing to speak.

The teleconference system may also be configured to address the need incertain circumstances for timely interruptions that may otherwisedestroy the flow of conversation if left too long. For example, a teammember may want to raise a point, but by virtue of priority, never gainthe dominant source. By the time that such a participant gains thedominant source, the subject matter may no longer be relevant. Undersuch a situation, a participant or the teleconference system may raisethe priority of a corresponding participant and “grab the floor”. Theability for participants to act outside their normally configuredhierarchal position can be configured, administered or dynamicallychanged. However, this aspect is optional and need not be implemented,such as where strict adherence to the rules, policies and/or hierarchyis to be enforced.

Still further, the teleconference system may provide autonomiccontent/context based reprioritization, e.g., to dynamically controlinterruptions based upon content and/or context. For example, theintended conversation may be with regard to topic A, and a participantmay have a low priority with regard to the subject matter of topic A.This same participant may be an expert in subject matter B. If thecontext of the conversation shifts to subject matter B, priority mayautomatically/manually change. According to various aspects of thepresent invention, all of the parameters may be configured, administeredand dynamically driven by rules. Input to these rules can be content orcontext such as above where the “speaker switch” is at a naturalbreakpoint. As such, autonomic modification, i.e., where the systemautomatically determines certain values and inputs them to the rules andfunctions may be implemented.

Referring to FIG. 6, a block diagram of a data processing system isdepicted in accordance with the present invention. A data processingsystem 200, such as may be utilized to implement the hierarchicalteleconference controller, may comprise a symmetric multiprocessor (SMP)system or other configuration including a plurality of processors 202connected to system bus 204. Alternatively, a single processor 202 maybe employed. Also connected to system bus 204 is memory controller/cache206, which provides an interface to local memory 208. An I/O bridge 210is connected to the system bus 204 and provides an interface to an I/Obus 212. The I/O bus may be utilized to support one or more busses andcorresponding devices 214, such as bus bridges, input output devices(I/O devices), storage, network adapters, etc. Network adapters may alsobe coupled to the system to enable the data processing system to becomecoupled to other data processing systems or remote printers or storagedevices through intervening private or public networks. 100881 Alsoconnected to the I/O bus may be devices such as a graphics adapter 216,storage 218 and a computer usable storage medium 220 having computerusable program code embodied thereon. The computer usable program codemay be executed to execute any aspect of the present invention, forexample, to implement aspect of any of the methods and/or systemcomponents illustrated in FIGS. 1-5. Moreover, the computer usableprogram code may be utilized to implement the hierarchal control ofteleconferences as set out further herein.

The data processing system depicted in FIG. 6 may be, for example, anIBM RS/6000 system, a product of International Business MachinesCorporation in Armonk, N.Y., running the Advanced Interactive Executive(AIX) operating system. An object oriented programming system such asJava may run in conjunction with the operating system and provides callsto the operating system from Java programs or applications executing ondata processing system.

The various aspects of the present invention may be embodied as systems,computer-implemented methods and computer program products. Also,various aspects of the present invention may take the form of anentirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingsoftware, firmware, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combiningsoftware and hardware, wherein the embodiment or aspects thereof may begenerally referred to as a “circuit,” “component” or “system.”Furthermore, the various aspects of the present invention may take theform of a computer program product on a computer-usable storage mediumhaving computer-usable program code embodied in the medium or a computerprogram product accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readablemedium providing program code for use by or in connection with acomputer or any instruction execution system.

The software aspects of the present invention may be stored, implementedand/or distributed on any suitable computer usable or computer readablemedium(s). For the purposes of this description, a computer-usable orcomputer readable medium can be any apparatus that can contain, store,communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.The computer program product aspects of the present invention may havecomputer usable or computer readable program code portions thereof,which are stored together or distributed, either spatially or temporallyacross one or more devices.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus systems andcomputer program products according to embodiments of the invention. Itwill be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/orblock diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams may be implemented by systemcomponents or computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus, create means for implementing thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, one or more blocksin the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a component, segment,or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructionsfor implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently or in the reverseorder.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof

The description of the present invention has been presented for purposesof illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention of the present application in detailand by reference to embodiments thereof, it will be apparent thatmodifications and variations are possible without departing from thescope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

1. A method of controlling a teleconference conducted between two ormore participants, comprising: assigning, by a server of a correspondingteleconference system, a selected one of at least two participationstates to each participant in the teleconference, wherein thecorresponding teleconference system communicates with a communicationdevice of each participant, wherein: a first one of the participationstates designates a muted state wherein communication from acorresponding participant in the muted state is prevented from reachingthe remainder of the teleconference participants over the correspondingteleconference system; and a second one of the participation statesdesignates an active state wherein communication from a correspondingparticipant in the active state is transmitted to the remainder of theteleconference participants over the corresponding teleconferencesystem; monitoring, by the server of the corresponding teleconferencesystem, at least one teleconference parameter associated with theteleconference, each teleconference parameter related to determiningwhether control of the teleconference should change; and automaticallyperforming a teleconference update without manual intervention when atriggering event is detected based upon monitoring the at least oneteleconference parameter by: determining a hierarchal order of theparticipants of the teleconference; modifying a participation state ofat least one participant based at least in part upon the determinedhierarchal order of the participants; and conveying at least themodified participation state to the corresponding teleconference systemso as to implement the modified participation state of the at least oneparticipant of the corresponding teleconference system.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein determining a hierarchal order of theparticipants of the teleconference comprises deriving a hierarchy basedupon a policy or rule that determines whether a first participant caninterrupt a designated dominant participant who is the only speaker thatreaches the remainder of the teleconference participants over thecorresponding teleconference system.
 3. The method according to claim 1,wherein determining a hierarchal order of the participants of theteleconference comprises deriving an organizational hierarchy from atleast one as a lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) orBluePages, or by deriving a hierarchy based upon a directed acyclicgraph.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining ahierarchal order of the participants of the teleconference comprisescreating a hierarchy by a host of the teleconference.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein determining a hierarchal order of theparticipants of the teleconference comprises deriving a hierarchy basedupon at least one rule or policy specified by at least one of acorresponding organization, individual profiles of the participants or apredetermined set of best practice rules.
 6. The method according toclaim 1, wherein determining a hierarchal order of the participants ofthe teleconference comprises deriving a hierarchy based upon at leastone rule derived from at least one of cultural practice, gender orbusiness practice.
 7. The method according to claim 1, whereindetermining a hierarchal order of the participants of the teleconferencecomprises establishing the hierarchical order based upon a level ofinvolvement of each participant during the teleconference.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 7, wherein the hierarchical order based upon a levelof involvement dynamically changes during the teleconference.
 9. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the hierarchal order automaticallydynamically changes at various times during the correspondingteleconference.
 10. A method of controlling a teleconference between atleast two participants comprising: monitoring the teleconference, by aserver of a corresponding teleconference system, to determine whethermore than one participant connected to the corresponding teleconferencesystem by a communication device desires to speak at the same time;detecting a triggering event based upon monitoring the teleconference;determining a hierarchal order of participants of the teleconference;automatically selecting a dominant source without manual interventionbased upon the participants desiring to speak and the hierarchal orderof the participants; determining a selected one participant from the atleast two participants to have a role of a dominant participant basedupon the selected dominant source; and conveying only the speech of thedominant participant in the teleconference to each participant.
 11. Themethod according to claim 10, wherein at least one participant requeststo be the dominant participant by performing at least one of entering adual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) code on their communication device,speaking into the communication device or sending a data request to acorresponding teleconference system.
 12. The method according to claim10, further comprising providing at least one of a visual or an audiblecue to designate a change to the dominant participant.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 10, further comprising responding to queries from theparticipants so as to identify the dominant participant.
 14. The methodaccording to claim 10, wherein the dominant participant has the right todelegate the role of dominant participant to another participant of theteleconference.
 15. The method according to claim 10, further comprisingutilizing a policy of arbitration among participants desiring to be thedominant participant having similar hierarchal positions.